


Spiral Static

by erazedtrash



Category: Muse (Band)
Genre: Aliens, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Futuristic, Gen, Other, Science Fiction, space
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-03-23 21:55:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13797126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/erazedtrash/pseuds/erazedtrash
Summary: When he was younger, Dom was really excited about his future job - he would get to work in space! However, now that Chris and he are sent out on a mission to eliminate the threat posed by something on an eerie planet nearby where darkness and death are the only things you can be sure of, things don't seem so exciting anymore...





	1. crash

_present_

It's pitch black all around me. My flashlight flickers. Then it goes out. I curse under my breath. There's a low buzzing noise to my left and I decide to cautiously crawl away from it because I'm sure it doesn't mean anything good - does anything here mean anything good though?

For a moment everything is quiet. Too quiet. The buzzing noise from before becomes a loud growl right next to me and it makes me get chills, my hair standing. My eyes widen. Shit. I try to stay calm and make no sound. The growling stops.

I wait for a while before I take out my communicator, just to be sure the danger is gone. At least for now. It might just be this creature's hunting tactic but I can't waste my time trying to find out if it's  _actually_  safe now or not.

"Chris, do you copy?" I whisper.

_"I'm here,"_ he replies, his voice distorted by the static. I can still tell he is concerned. He and I have decided that he is going to wait by what is left of our ship so that he can try to contact the base from there.

I swallow. "We're fucked."

_72 hours earlier_

"Are you ready for this, bud?" Chris asks and nudges my shoulder, smiling.

I continue putting on my space int-suit ( **suit for interior spaces or others that provide air breathable to humans** ). "Hell yeah. Well... I guess we shouldn't speak too soon though because we didn't get the input about what the mission is about yet," I answer and rub my neck.

My best friend rolls his eyes. "Don't be such a pussy. It's a mission. It's going to be fun. Just you, me and a couple of nerds."

I just wave him off in response. Both he and I get completely dressed and make our way to the alpha zone ( **more or less like the hq** ). The Commander approaches us and motions for us to follow him to the central where he will tell us all about the mission.

"As you will understand, you are not allowed to share any of the information I am going to give you."

Both Chris and I nod. "Positive, sir."

"We have received data about the four deaths of former teammates that were out on secret missions on the planet TC202804, commonly referred to as the Dark Planet," the Commander tells us. "Evidence shows that suicide is unlikely. It's always the same M.O. - to put it that way: something or someone punched a hole with a diameter of about eight inches into their chests. We found them about a week after they died because they weren't responding. The only possible explanation we have is that the murders were committed by indigenous lifeforms of TC202804. So, according to the codex, they have to be eliminated for they pose a threat to this base and its crew. Shoot at sight."

"Understood, sir," Chris and I reply in synch.

"You as the members of the military will be accompanied by a couple of scientists who will continue to do research on the species of the planet. The results of the research done so far have gotten lost. So you must succeed."

"Yes, sir."

"Dismissed. Good luck."


	2. light

_present_

I reach for my belt. A lowlight amplifier wouldn't do much - good thing I have a nightscope on me. I didn't use it earlier to save battery but now that my flashlight is dead, I don't have a choice. 

I'm not quite sure I want to see everything around me though but I have to get back to Chris. 

Tom will stay at the ship with Morgan and the other geeks. Neither Chris nor me nor anyone else should go out here on their own from now on. It's so dangerous. 

I slowly crawl back to where I think the ship is, careful not to tear holes into the suit or something like that. I can't see all that much despite the nightscope. Perhaps it's broken like the flashlight. I take the communicator out again. "Chris?"

 _"Yes?"_  is the answer. 

"Sounds odd but please enlighten me. My flashlight's toast. My nightscope might be, too," I say.

_"Understood."_

I stop crawling. A couple of minutes later there's a quiet buzzing noise from behind me and a light ray almost blinds me when I turn around. So much for my great sense of orientation... 

I slowly stand up and walk back to the spaceship where Chris is waiting, the flashlight pointed at me. He shuts the door by activating the electric lock with his handprint. "What  happened out there?" he asks, frowning in concern. 

"Made acquaintance with one of the locals. Don't know what it was yet. Glad I'm alive." I rub my neck after taking off my helmet. "It was stupid to go out there alone. Kind of makes me want to punch myself in the face to be fairly honest." 

Chris purses his lips. "Save that for another time - when you actually deserve it." We both smile and he pats my shoulder. "Let's go." Chris and I walk to the common room where the others are waiting. About a dozen pairs of eyes are staring at us. A couple of members of the team are injured, two heavily injured. Luckily we have the supplies on board to get them back on their feet, hopefully without losing anyone.

Luckily I have gotten back to the others without any more injuries or encounters with indigenous life forms. I'm glad the hull is intact enough to keep things from getting in. One thing less to worry about, at least for now. 

The oxygen supply is working but only the emergency mode which means we will run out of oxygen inside the ship in nine days or so because the rest of the power is saved for emergency signals and the trip back to the base. Solar panels or thermal plants won't help us in this hellhole. It's too cold and dark. The nerds will have to figure something out because they studied handling all those machines I didn't. 

We'll try to contact the base and let them know about the crash anyway although they might just tell us to continue the mission regardless of how much oxygen we have left. It's either succeed or die.


	3. shadow

"Okay... so..." I begin and clear my throat. The others are watching me, apprehension written all over their faces.

We have all been trained to take care of a situation like this but that doesn't mean any of us are  _really_ prepared for what it's like to be stranded on a planet you barely know anything about except for the fact that it's always dark, always cold and that you are very likely to die a horrible death.

"It doesn't matter how tough you are - being close to death is scary for most and I can't and won't tell you not to be," I mumble and the others nod. "The crash has obviously left us overwhelmed to the point where we made hasty decisions without thinking and that mustn't happen again." The terrifying noises from the creatures outside echo in my head and I bite my lip.

Chris looks at me, thankful. He hates talking first although he would be a way better leader than me in my opinion. "What we have to do now is to take care of ourselves and try to contact the alpha zone. That's our top priority. Before we have done that, no one is leaving the ship," he told us. "That Dom was out there for a sec was dangerous enough." He sighs and runs his fingers through his hair. "Rookie mistake."

Some of our crew members shift in their seats, uncomfortable. None of us decides to say another thing about it.

"Four of us have had the medical training. Let's get back to work," I add. We have already taken care of the heavily injured - set bones, stop bleeding - and now it's time for the minor injuries. We have all survived so far...

After every injury has been treated the best way possible, Chris motions for me to follow him to the hallway where the others couldn't hear us. "I haven't told the others yet but... the alpha zone isn't answering. Our signals aren't going through."

A shiver runs down my spine. What if the previous crew where the members were killed kept trying to call for help and nobody heard them? Eventually they must have given up and left the ship to gather supplies, water et cetera outside where death awaited them... So far away from home, lost in space with no way to say goodbye to loved ones...

"I mean of course I'm going to get Morgan to try to fix it but for now we're cut off," Chris tells me and sighs. "Panicking doesn't help us but neither does not doing anything about it and hoping a grave problem like this will solve itself."

"You're right," I agree and cross my arms as I lean against the wall. For a small moment I inspect the scars and scratches on my forearms.

Chris bites his lower lip. "What do you propose?"

"Your plan is good but I think we might have to do some things simultaneously to save time we need. We could scout the area whilst the technicians do their thing. We'll take one or two of the science dudes with us so that in total we are a group of five to six people. Should lower the risk of us being attacked," I state and my best friend nods. I'm not sure if the last thing I have said was a statement or a prayer.

"Alright then I guess we'll tell the others and then..." Chris trails off for a second. "To hell we go."


End file.
